2008 sadly saw the worst earthquake in China in over 30 years. The Great Sichuan Earthquake was 8 on the Richter scale and killed around 70,000 people in May, not to mention the tens of thousands who were injured or went missing.
On 26^th January, 2009, the biggest earthquake in India took the lives of 25,000 people. In the morning, when everybody was enjoying holiday, the earthquake began, It was about 7.5 on the Richter scale. "There is nothing left between the sky and the earth any more. Everything has been pulled down. " said one of the villagers alive. " There is no water, no food and no one has come to help."
Nobody died in Pakistan, a country next to India. The City of Lahore was lucky. In Lahore American School, where I was studying, all of the students were safe. They were in the field, so most children didn't feel anything. The earthquake was felt by the teachers that were on the second floor. However, though Mrs Young was also on the second floor, she didn't feel anything. She didn't know what happened until a teacher told her about it. Those teachers who were on the other floors had different feelings. Mr Emond, the maths teacher from Australia, said that when the earthquake started he thought there was something wrong with him, but then another teacher said that it was an earthquake. After those words Mr Emond felt better. Mrs Davis and Mr Frost didn't feel anything either.
My mother didn't feel anything. She didn't even know that it was an earthquake till she saw a shaking light. My dad saw the computer shaking and then he looked out of the window and saw many people going out.
【小题1】People use Richter scale to tell ______________

A．where the earthquake takes place

B．when the earthquake takes place

C．how serious the earthquake is

D．how long the earthquake lasts

【小题2】The recent biggest earthquake both in China and India killed around ___ people.

A．25,000

B．45,000

C．70,000

D．95,000

【小题3】From the sentence “ There is nothing left between the sky and the earth any more” we learn that______________.

A．India is a large country

B．the Indian had nothing after the earthquake

C．there is no tall building in India

D．the earthquake in India was serious

【小题4】According to the passage, the City of Lahore is in __________________.

A．India

B．Pakistan

C．America

D．China

Most children now chat daily either online or through their mobile phones. They are connecting to a huge number of other children all over the world. Some are shy “in real life” but are confident to communicate with others online; others find support from people of their own age on relationship issues, or problems at home.
Sometimes the online world, just like the real word, can introduce problems, such as bullying or arguments. Going online is great fun, but there are also a few people who use the Internet for offensive（冒犯性的）or illegal aims. Children must be made aware of both the good things and the danger.
To keep children safe your management must cover the family computer. Just as you decide which TV programs are suitable, you need to do the same for the websites and chat rooms your children visit. Remind your children that online friends are still strangers. Reminding them of the risks will keep them alert. (警惕)
Computer studies are part of schoolwork now, so it’s likely that your children may know more than you do. We get left behind when it comes to the latest gadgets (玩意儿) and interactive areas of websites, like chat rooms and message boards, which are especially strange. The language of chat is strange to many parents, too. Chatters love to use abbreviations such as: atb— all the best; bbfn— bye by for now; cul8er —see you later; gr8—great; idk— I don’t know; imbl— it must be love; kit —keep in touch; paw— parents are watching; lol—laugh out loud; xlnt— excellent!
【小题1】The passage is written for __________.

A．children

B．parents

C．teachers

D．net bar owners.

【小题2】The underlined word “ aware” most probably means __________.

A．careful

B．proud

C．to know

D．to hear

【小题3】Which of the following will the author probably agree with?

A．Children shouldn’t chat so much online.

B．People had better not use the net language in real life.

C．Parents are advised to choose suitable websites and chat rooms for their children.

D．Children should surf the Internet together with their parents.

【小题4】When your son is chatting about something secret online with you standing beside him, he may use_______.

A．bbfn.

B．lol

C．paw

D．cul8er

The Basics of Math—Made Clear
Basic Math introduces students to the basic concepts of mathematics, as well as the fundamentals of more tricky areas. These 30 fantastic lectures are designed to provide students with an understanding of arithmetic and to prepare them for Algebra(代数) and beyond.
The lessons in Basic Math cover every basic aspect of arithmetic. They also look into exponents(指数), the order of operations, and square roots. In addition to learning how to perform various mathematical operations, students discover why these operations work, how a particular mathematical topic relates to other branches of mathematics, and how these operations can be used practically.
Basic Math starts from the relatively easier concepts and gradually moves on to the more troublesome ones, so as to allow for steady and sure understanding of the material by students. The lectures offer students the chance to “make sense” of mathematical knowledge that may have seemed so frightening. They also help students prepare for college mathematics and overcome their anxiety about this amazing—and completely understandable—field of study.
By the conclusion of the course, students will have improved their understanding of basic math. They will be able to clear away the mystery(神秘性) of mathematics and face their studies with more confidence than they ever imagined. In addition, they will strengthen their ability to accept new and exciting mathematical challenges.
Professor H. Siegel, honored by Kentucky Educational Television as “the best math teacher in America,” is a devoted teacher and has a gift for explaining mathematical concepts in ways that make them seem clear and obvious. From the basic concrete ideas to the more abstract problems, he is master in making math lectures learner-friendlier and less scary.
With a PhD in Mathematics Education from Georgia State University, Dr. Siegel teaches mathematics at Central Arizona College. His courses include various make-up classes and a number of lectures for future primary school teachers.
If the course fails to provide complete satisfaction to you, you can easily exchange it for any other course that we offer. Or you can get your money back.
【小题1】What does the course Basic Math mainly cover?

A．Algebra.	B．College Mathematics.
C．Arithmetic.	D．Mathematics Education.

【小题2】What benefits can students expect from Basic Math?

A．Stronger imaginative ability.

B．Additional presentation skills.

C．More mathematical confidence.

D．Greater chances of becoming teachers.

【小题3】What can we learn about Professor H. Siegel?

A．He is a guest lecturer at Kentucky Educational Television.

B．He is to deliver 30 lectures in Basic Math.

C．He works in Georgia State University.

D．He specializes in training teachers.

【小题4】Where is the passage most likely to have been taken from?

A．A news report.	B．A book review
C．A lesson plan.	D．An advertisement

Young people can have problems with their minds. Some students become worried because they have to study very hard. Others have trouble getting on well with people like their parents and classmates.
Li Wen, a junior 2 student from No. 2 Middle School, could not understand his teacher and was doing badly in his lessons. He became so worried about it that he started to cut his finger with a knife.
Another student, 16-year-old Yang Fang from No. 1 Middle School, was afraid of exams. She got very worried in one, and when she looked at the exam paper, she couldn't think of anything to write.
A recent report from Jiefang Daily says about 18% of Shanghai teenagers have mental problems. Their troubles include being worried and very unhappy, and having problems in learning and getting on with people. Many students who have problems won't go for advice or help. Some think they will look stupid if they go to see a doctor. Others don't want to talk about their secrets.
Liang Yuezhu, an expert on teenagers from Beijing Anding Hospital has the following advice for teenagers:
Talk to your parents or teachers often.
Take part in group activities and play sports.
Go to see a doctor if you feel unhappy or unwell.
【小题1】The students who often become worried or have trouble getting on with others may have ________.

A．no parents

B．a headache

C．knife with them

D．mental problems

【小题2】Li Wen cut his finger with a knife because________.

A．he was afraid of his teacher	B．he was so worried about his studies
C．he wanted to frighten his parents	D．his finger was badly hurt

【小题3】Yang Fang's problem happened when________.

A．she had exams	B．she studied very hard
C．she talked with her parents	D．she thought of something

【小题4】Students who have problems won't ask others for help because________.

A．they won't let others think they are stupid

B．they don't think doctors can help them

C．they don't want to talk about their secrets

D．both A and C

【小题5】Liang Yuezhu's advice tells us that ________.

A．it's unnecessary for them to be with others

B．only group activities and sports can help them

C．it's better for the students who have mental problems to join others

D．teachers and parents can't do anything about mental problems

Starting high school means many changes in your life. Most teenagers look forward to the first day of high school, but still feel a little bit nervous. In order to make your high school life easier, you can follow these tips.
Learn all you can about your first day before the first day. Take part in some activities that are held at the school for new students to know the school better. If parents are invited to these activities, take yours with you. Carefully look over all the materials you receive. Be sure you know where the school’s buildings are.
Get the things you will need for class. Buy the things suggested on your teachers’ supply lists and place your materials for each class separately.
Keep up with your high school workload（工作量）. If you find you’re not doing well in a subject, make use of after-school study groups or ask your teacher to help you with your schoolwork. Consider private tutoring to get you through a difficult time.
There’re more extracurricular（课外的）activities in high school than in middle school, such as clubs, music and theater groups, student government, and sports teams. Make friends and be seen at such school activities. Join a club or other organizations to meet people and develop friendships. Ask someone in school activities if you don’t know how. This is a good time to do what you like doing and an opportunity to try new things. Who said school has to be all work and no play?
Since you’ll attend more activities in high school than in middle school, you’ll have to learn how to manage you time…
【小题1】The writer wrote this passage to ______.

A．advise us to study hard in high school.

B．tell us how to live an easier life in high school.

C．show that we may live a hard life in high school.

D．explain why there will be many changes in high school.

【小题2】In paragraph 2, the writer suggests that we should ______.

A．ask our parents to walk us to school

B．ask other students about our high school

C．prepare all the things we need for our classes

D．learn about our high school well before attending it

【小题3】According to paragraph 4, what should we do if we are not doing well in a subject?

A．We should get help from others.

B．We should stop going to activities.

C．We should spend most of our time on it.

D．We should give it up if it is not important.

【小题4】In paragraph 5, the writer wants to tell us that ______.

A．every coin has two sides

B．the early bird catches the worm

C．where there is a will, there is a way

D．all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

【小题5】What will the writer most probably talk about next?

A．How to manage time well in high school.

B．Why we need to learn how to manage time.

C．How to attend more activities in high school.

D．Why middle school is different from high school.

Homeschool materials are every where .In fact, as a homeschool parent, one of the best learning tools you can use is making use of songs. Think of it .When you hear your favorite songs come on the radio and as soon as the lyrics begin , you can join in at once and sing along. Perhaps,  you haven’t heard this song for months or even years! Doesn’t it amaze you? There is no doubt that learning through lyric and rhyme(韵律)is a great way!
With some careful searching , you can come up with many songs ,lyrics ,and rhymes that fit well with your homeschool lesson plan or unit study. Some places even have songs that have the same themes with the lessons. They are perfect to be used to add to your homeschool materials ! Even if you don’t find a particular great song for what you may be teaching at the time, you can write your own. With a little practice, you can not only write your own songs over time but also be surprised how good you can become.
Take any of the traditional chidren’s  songs and modify(修改) them to meet your needs .This is an interesting exercise for both you and your children. It helps you with reading , recognizing(识别)sounds, and improving memory. Soon you’ll have your children want to write and sing their own songs!
Song and singing is such a great way to teach your children. It’s fun and relaxing. Sometimes. you really need such a break from your study and work .It will cost nothing. So turn your creativity and imagination loose and have fun .Whisrle (吹口哨) while you work!
【小题1】In Paragraph 1,the author proves his point through______

A．his favorite songs	B．his own experience
C．people’s common experience	D．singing along with the radio

【小题2】What does the underlined word “They” in  Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．Songs.

B．Themes.

C．Lessons

D．Places

【小题3】According to the passage, modifying traditional songs can ______

A．improve people’s writing ability

B．make materials more interesting

C．help children sing better

D．help people improve memory

【小题4】The passage is probably written to______

A．homeschool students

B．homeschool parents

C．all the children

D．school teachers

【小题5】Which of the follwing would be the best title for the passage?

A．How to raise children at home

B．How to find homeschool materials

C．Homeschool materials in songs

D．Children’s singing materials

When it comes to success in business and success in life, there are few qualities as important as confidence．
People naturally have different levels of confidence．Some have a higher level of confidence than others do, but even those whose confidence is lacking can learn to build their level of confidence and reach their most important goals．Increasing self confidence is one of the most common reasons people give for seeking the help of psychologists and other professionals．
One of the many places where a greater level of confidence is useful is in the workplace．We all know how difficult it can be, for instance, to ask the boss for a raise．This process can be extremely difficult for those who lack confidence in their own abilities．After all, if you are unsure about your own abilities, how will you ever convince your boss that you deserve more money for the work you do?
Even if you are not asking for that big raise, having plenty of confidence in your abilities is important to success．If you are certain of your abilities, chances are that those around you, whether they are your coworkers, your colleagues or your superiors, will see that confidence, and that will help to assure them that you are the best at what you do．
Being thought of as the person to go to, and being seen as an expert in your chosen field, is naturally very important to success on the job．If you can make yourself the person people go to for guidance and advice, you will help to protect yourself from the ever present danger of downsizing（裁员）．After all, if you are a recognized expert at the office, you will be regarded as an indispensable member of the team．
Having a high level of confidence, after all, does not mean overlooking the places where you could improve．Knowing what you do well and where you need help will help you enjoy increased success and confidence．
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?

A．The influence of confidence on one's life．

B．The difference of people's confidence．．

C．The importance of confidence to success

D．The judgment on one's confidence．

【小题2】Psychologists and other professionals can offer help to those ______．

A．who dream to be recognized experts

B．who expect to give guidance to others

C．who want to ask the boss for a raise

D．who think their goals are hard to reach

【小题3】What message does the author want to convey（传递） in the last paragraph?

A．To overlook one's disadvantages．

B．To make full use of one's advantages．

C．To have great confidence in one's abilities．

D．To make objective evaluations of one's abilities．

It is difficult for parents of nearly every family to teach their children to be responsible for housework, but with one of the following suggestions, you really can get your children to help at home.
　　If you give your children the impression that they can never do anything quite right, then they will regard themselves as unfit or unable persons. Unless children believe they can succeed, they will never become totally independent.
　　My daughter Carla’s fifth - grade teacher made every child in her class feel special. When students received less than a prefect test score, she would point out what they had mastered and declared firmly they could learn what they had missed.
　　You can use the same technique when you evaluate （评价）your child’s work at home. Don’t always scold and give lots of praise instead.  Talk about what he has done right, not about what he hasn’t done. If your child completes a difficult task（任务）, promise him a Sunday trip or a ball game with Dad.
　　Learning is a process（过程）of trying and failing and trying and succeeding. If you teach your children not to fear a mistake of failure, they will learn faster and achieve success at last.
【小题1】The whole passage deals with ________.
　　   

A．social education

B．school education

C．family education

D．pre - school education

【小题2】The article gives us a good suggestion about how to evaluate（评价）your child’s work at home. That is to _____.
　　   

A．praise his success

B．promise him a trip

C．give him a punishment

D．promise him a ball game

【小题3】The author advises readers to________.
　　   

A．learn from himself, for he has a good way of teaching

B．take pride in Carla’s fifth - grade teacher

C．do as what Carla’s teacher did in educating children

D．follow Carla’s example because she never fails in the test

【小题4】Having read the last paragraph, we can conclude that ________.
　　   

A．pride goes before a fall

B．practice makes perfect

C．no pains, no gains

D．failure is the mother of success

When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority(优先). This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values as well as the social environment it comes from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as does a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception (感知) that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotive (情感的) meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other .They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebrations, the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.
【小题1】According to paragraph 1, students      .

A．regard music as a way of entertainment

B．disagree with their parents on education

C．view music as an overlooked subject

D．prefer the arts to science

【小题2】In Paragraph 2, the author uses jazz an example to      .

A．compare it with rock music

B．show music identifies a society

C．introduce American musical traditions

D．prove music influences people’s lifestyles

【小题3】According to the passage, the arts and science        .

A．approach the world from different angles

B．explore different phenomena of the world

C．express people’s feeling in different ways

D．explain what it means to be human differently

【小题4】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Music education deserves more attention.

B．Music should be of top education priority.

C．Music is an effective communication tool.

D．Music education makes students more imaginative.

Some American parents might think their children need better education to compete with China and other countries’ children． But how much do the parents themselves need to change?
A new book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother written by Amy Chua has caused a debate about cultural differences in parenting． Ms． Chua is a professor at the Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, and a mother of two daughters． She was raised in America by immigrant Chinese parents． In her book, Ms． Chua wrote about how she demanded excellence from her daughters． For example, she threatened to burn her daughter’s dolls unless she played a piece of music perfectly． She would scold her daughters if they failed to meet her expectations．
Ms． Chua had a clear list of what her daughters, Sophia and Louisa, were not permitted to do: “Attend a sleepover, have a play date, watch TV or play computer games, be in a school play, get any grade less than an A．” Many people criticize Amy Chua, saying her parenting methods were cruel and violent． She even admits that her husband, who is not Chinese, sometimes objected to her parenting style． But she says that is the way her parents raised her and her three sisters．
Ms． Chua says she eased some of the pressure after her younger daughter rebelled and shouted “I hate my life! I hate you!” But she also says American parents often have low expectations of their children’s abilities． Amy Chua thinks one of the biggest differences between Western and Chinese parents is that Chinese parents take on strength rather than fragility．”
Stacy DeBroff, who has written four books on parenting, says: “Parents should rethink, what does it mean to be a successful parent and what does it mean to be a successful child?” She says Amy Chua’s parenting style is not limited to Chinese families． It represents a traditional way of parenting among immigrants seeking a better future for their children． But she also sees a risk． When children have no time to be social or to follow their own interests, they might not develop other skills that they need to succeed in life． Stacey DeBroff advises parents to develop their own style of parenting and not just repeat the way they were raised．
【小题1】Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is mainly about ___________．

A．how to teach children to learn music

B．how to change the ways of parenting

C．Amy Chun’s experience in parenting

D．Amy Chun’s reflection of her family life

【小题2】The underlined word “rebelled” in Paragraph 4 probably means “____________”．

A．disobeyed

B．succeeded

C．failed

D．panicked

【小题3】 According to Ms． Chua, Chinese way of parenting is powerful because ____________．

A．parents set good examples to children

B．parents understand their children better

C．parents usually treat their children as friends

D．parents have high expectations of their children

【小题4】What is Stacy DeBroff’s warning to immigrant parents?

A．Don’t expect too much from their children．

B．Don’t allow them to communicate with others．

C．Don’t give them freedom to do what they want to．

D．Don’t bring up their children as their parents did．